Diving-bell



DIVING BELL.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.28, 1920.

1,3 1, 9 v I Patented Dec. 14; 1920.,

$2 SHEETS-SHEET I Karl fl 02507? K. A. OLSON.

DIVING BELL.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.28, 1920.

1,361,899. Patented Dec. 14,122@.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2. 11

PATENT OFFICE.

KARL A. OLSON, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

DIVING-BELL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 14, 1920.

Application filed January 28, 1920. Serial No. 354,599.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, KARL A. OLSON, a citizen of the United States, and residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Diving-Bells, of which the following is a specification, such as will enable those skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to diving bells and other submerging apparatus used in raising sunken ships, and the object of the invention is to provide means for supporting a plurality of devices in connection with the exterior portion of apparatus of the class specified; a further object being to provide means extending into said apparatus for moving said supporting means about the eX- terior of the hull portion of the apparatus; a further object being to provide means operated from within the apparatus and protruding through the hull thereof for engaging the devices on said supporting means and for moving said devices independent of said supporting means for various purposes; and with these and other objects in view the invention consists in an apparatus of the class and for the purpose specified which is simple in construction and operation and efficient in use.

The invention described and claimed herein is an improvement on that described and claimed in two prior U. S. Letters Patent granted to me April 29, 1919, No. 1,302,081 and 1,302,422.

The invention is fully disclosed in the following specification, of which the accompanying drawing forms a part, in which the separate parts of my improvement are designated by suitable reference characters in each of the views, and in which Figure 1 is an outside view of a part of the hull of a diving bell showing my improvement in connection therewith;

Fig. 2 a detail and sectional view of the construction shown in Fig. 1, looking outwardly from the hull of the apparatus; the section being on the line 2-2 of Fig. 3 but on a reduced scale.

Fig. 3 .a partial section on the line 33 of Fig. 2 and on an enlarged scale;

Fig. 1 a diagrammatic detail view of a part of the apparatus shown in Fig. 3 and indicating the method of the operation of the apparatus;

Fig. 5 a partial section on the line 55 of Fig. 1 with part of the construction omitted;

Fig. 6 a partial section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 1; and,

Fig. 7 a face View of one of a number of devices which I employ.

My improvement is diagrammatically illustrated in connection with what is known as diving bell apparatus and, in the drawing I have shown at 10 a part of the hull of such apparatus. The hull 10 is enlarged as shown at 11 and passed through the enlarged portion 11 is a tubular shaft 12 rotatably mounted in the enlargement 11 and movable inwardly and outwardly therethrough. I provide a packing 13 in the enlargement 11 for preventing the passage of water into the apparatus.

In Figs. 3 and 6 of the drawing, I have shown at 14: a supporting frame mounted within the apparatus in any desired manner, and in the top portion of which is rotatably mounted a worm 15 having a crank 16 or any other suitable means for rotating the same, and the worm 15 operates in connection with the worm gear 17 which is keyed to the shaft 12 but through which said shaft is movable and any suitable means may be provided for giving the shaft 12 an inward and outward movement. The worm 15 and worm gear 17 provide the means for rotating the shaft 12, and said shaft may be moved inwardly and outwardly in any desired manner. The inner end portion of the shaft 12 is provided with bearings 18 for supporting a worm 19 having a crank 20, and the worm 19 operates in connection with the worm gear 21 secured to the inner end of a shaft 22 which passes through the tubular shaft 12.

Mounted on the outer end portion of the shaft 22 is a pinion 23 and detachably .mounted on the outer end portion of the tubular shaft 12 is a rectangular block 241 which is clamped to the shaft by providing a saw-cut 25 at one side of the block, and passing a bolt 26 through the block to brin the saw-cut portions thereof together. grasping device 27 is movably mounted in the block 24:, said grasping device comprising a fork-shaped head 28, the end portions of the arms of which are hook-shaped in form and provided at their free ends with enlarged heads 29, and the base of the forkshaped head is provided with an outwardly directed extension 30. Secured to the head 28 is a guide rod 31 and a rack 32 both of which pass through the block 24, and the ends of which are joined by a plate 33. The rack 32 operates in connection with the pinion 23 on the end of the shaft 22 as is clearly shown in Fig. 1.

By means of the construction above set out, it will be seen that the grasping device 27 may be moved forwardly and backwardly and may be rotated in such movement, and by rotating the shaft 22 said grasping device, or the fork-shaped head 28 thereof, may be moved radially.

Mounted in the enlarged portion 11 of the hull adjacent to the shaft 12 is a shaft 34,

"which is also suitably packed as shown at 35, and this shaft protrudes outwardly through the hull and operates in an extended bearing 36, as clearly shown in Fig. 6 and a gear 37 is secured to the outer end of said shaft. A suitable support 38 is mounted within the hull of the diving bell and a worm 39 is mounted therein and operated by a crank 40, or any other suitable means, and the worm 39 operates in connection with a worm gear on the inner end portion of the shaft 34 in the same manner as the rotation of the shafts 12 and 22, and by means of this construction the shaft 34 and gear 37 thereon may be rotated.

The hull is provided on the opposite sides of the enlarged portion 11 with outwardly extending guide and supporting members 41 and 42, the member 41 being somewhat longer than the member 42 and being at the right of the enlarged portion 11 when viewed as shown in Fig. 1. The members 41 and 42 are provided with beveled extensions 43, which extend the full length thereof. A workpiece supporting frame 44 is normally mounted in connection with the member 41, said frame being provided on its inner face and adjacent to the lower edge thereof with an inwardly projecting portion 45, having a beveled groove 46 in which the beveled extension 43 of both of the members 41 and 42 are adapted to operate. By means of the connection of the frame 44 with the members 4142 said frame may be moved longitudinally of said members.

Secured to the bottom face of the frame 44 is a rack 47 which extends the full length thereof, and which operates in connection with the gear 37 as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and by rotating the shaft 34 from within the hull of the apparatus the frame 44 may be moved longitudinally of the members 41 to bring one of a number of workpieces in line with the'grasping device 27 as hereinafter described, and when the frame 44 or one end portion thereof passes said grasping device it will engage the member 42 and be firmly held in proper position.

The frame 44 is provided with a plurality of button-shaped members 48 which are secured to said frame and which project inwardly in the direction of the hull 10 of the diving bell. These buttons 48 are arranged at spaced intervals longitudinally of the frame 44 and consist of heads 49 and reduced shanks 50. I also provide a plurality of pulley devices 51 which are connected with the button-shaped members 48, and these pulley devices each consist of an upwardly directed yoke-shaped member 52 between and in which a pulley wheel 53 is rotatably mounted, and said devices are each provided with a downwardly directed portion 54 arranged at a slight angle to the longitudinl plane of the yoke-shaped end of the device and provided with a large aperture 55, the top 56 of which is larger than the bottom portion 57. Secured to the inner face of the downwardly directed portion 54 are pins 58 with which are connected a spiral spring 59, one end of which is detachably connected with one of the pins 58 and held in position by a cotter pin or the like 60.

The pulley devices 51 are suspended from suitable pontoons or the like by means of a cable or cables 61 which pass around the pulley wheels 53 of said devices, and in attaching such pontoons to the hull of asunken vessel the pulley devices 51 are first connected with the frame 44 of a diving hell or similar submerging vessel, this operation being accomplished by passing the heads 49 of the button-shaped members 48 through the enlarged portion 56 of the aperture 55 beneath the spring 59 to bring the devices into the position shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawing, in which position the downwardly directed portion 54 of the pulley devices 51 operates in connection with the neck portions 50 of the members 48 and the springs 59 operate upon the heads 49 of the members 48 to hold the pulley devices 51 against accidental displacement on the button-shaped members 48.

W'ith the pulley devices 51 attached to the frame 44 the diving bell or similar apparatus is submerged in the usual or any desired manner into juxtaposition to or in engagement with the hull 62 of a sunken vessel, part of which is shown in Fig. 4 of the drawing, and to which a stud 63 is secured, said stud being provided with. a conical head 64 and a reduced neck 65. After the diving hell or similar apparatus has been moved into proper position and held in engagement with the hull 62 of a sunken vessel by magnets or any other suitable means commonly known in this art, the frame 44 is moved to bring one of the pulley devices 51 in line with the grasping device 27 in the manner illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawing, after which the grasping device is manipulated from within the hull to move the same outwardly, upwardly and then downwardly to bring the yoke-shaped head 28 and the enlargements 29 in engagement with the clownwardly directed portion 54 of one of the pulley devices 51 and to grasp said device, and by moving the grasping device downwardly and then inwardly said pulley device will be disengaged from the buttonshaped member i8 to which it was originally attached, after which the frame Pi is again returned into its normal position as indicated in Fig. 1. The grasping device with the pulley device attached thereto, as shown in Fig. l, is moved outwardly and manipulated to bring it in line with the stud 63 on the hull 62 of the sunken vessel, and said pulley device is placed on said stud as is indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 4 by the manipulation of said grasping device. In order to facilitate the operation of the apparatus the usual window 66 is provided in the hull 10 of the diving hell, or a number of said windows may be employed, whereby an operator from within the hull of the diving bell may readily see the various mechanisms of the apparatus and properly perform the operations above set out.

It will be understood that after one of the pulley devices 51 has been attached to a stud 63 on the hull 62,-the frame M will again be manipulated to bring another pulley device 51 in line with the grasping device 27, and the above operation is again repeated. It will be understood that while I have shown the frame 44; as supporting a plurality of pulley devices 51 I am not limited to the use of this frame 14, and any suitable form of attaching device or workpiece may be employed, and various changes in and modifications of the details of construction herein shown and described may be made, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of my invention or sacrificing its advantages.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. An apparatus of the class described comprising a hull, a frame slidably mounted in connection with the exterior portion of the hull, means passed through the hull and operated from within the apparatus for manipulating said frame, means on said frame for supporting a plurality of devices in connection therewith, and means passed through the hull in juxtaposition to said first named means and operated from within the apparatus for detaching said devices from said frame.

2. An apparatus of the class described comprising a hull, a frame slidably mounted in connection with the exterior portion of the hull, means passed through the hull. and operated from within the apparatus for manipulating said frame, and means on said frame for detachably supporting a plurality of pulley devices in connection therewith.

3. An apparatus of the class described comprising a hull, a frame slidably mounted in connection with the exterior portion of the hull, means passed through the hull and operated from within the apparatus for manipulating said frame, means on said frame for detachably supporting a plurality of pulley devices in connection therewith, and a grasping device mounted in juxtaposition to said frame and operated from within the apparatus for detaching said pulley devices from said frame.

4. An apparatus of the class described comprising a hull, a frame slidably mounted in connection with the exterior portion of the hull, means for supporting and guiding said frame in its movement, a shaft passed through the hull, means within the apparatus for rotating said shaft, and means on the exterior portion of said shaft and in operative connection with said frame for giving said frame its movement, said frame being provided with a plurality of button-shaped members adapted to detachably support pulley devices.

5. An apparatus of the class described 'comprising a hull, a frame slidably mounted in connection with the exterior portion of the hull, means for supporting and guiding said frame in its movement, a shaft passed through the hull, means within the apparatus for rotating said shaft, means on the exterior portion of said shaft and in operative connection with said frame for giving said frame its movement, said frame being provided with a plurality of button-shaped members adapted to detachably support pulley devices, another shaft passed through the hull of the apparatus in juxtaposition to said first named shaft, means for detachably connecting a grasping device with the exterior portion of said shaft, means whereby said shaft may be moved forwardly and backwardly through the hull, and means within the apparatus for rotating said shaft to correspondingly rotate said grasping device.

6. An apparatus of the class described comprising a hull, a frame slidably mounted in connection with the exterior portion of the hull, means for supporting and guiding said frame in its movement, a shaft passed through the hull, means within the apparatus for rotating said shaft, means on the exterior portion of said shaft and in operative connection with said frame for giving said frame its movement, said frame being provided with a plurality of button-shaped members adapted to detachably support pulley devices, another shaft passed through the hull of the apparatus in juxtaposition to said first named shaft, means for detachably connecting a grasping device with the exterior portion of said shaft, means where by said shaft may be moved forwardly and backwardly through the hull, means within the apparatus for rotating said shaft to correspondingly rotate said grasping device, and means passed through said. last named shaft and operated from within the apparatus for moving said grasping deviae radially of said first named shaft;

'7. An apparatus of the class described comprising a hull, a frame slidably mounted in connection with the exterior portion of the hull, means for supporting and guiding said frame in its movement. a shaft passed through the hull, means within the apparatus for rotating said shaft, a gear on the exterior portion of said shaft operating in connection with a rack on said frame for giving said frame its movement, means on said frame for detachably supporting a plurality of pulley devices in connection therewith, a tubular shaft passed. through the hull of the apparatus in juxtaposition to said first named shaft, means for detachably connecting a fork-shaped grasping device with the exterior portion of said tubular shaft, means whereby said shaft may be moved inwardly and outwardly through the hull, means within the apparatus for rotating said shaft, another shaft mounted in said tubular shaft, means within the apparatus for rotating said last named shaft, said grasping device being provided with a raclc, and a gear on the exterior portion of said last named shaft operating in connection with saidracl: for moving the grasping device radially.

8. An apparatus of the class described comprising a hull, a frame movably mounted in (-onnection with the exterior portion of the hull, means passed through the hull and operated from within the apparatus for manipulating said frame, means on said frame for (iletachably' supporting a plurality of pulley devices in connection therewith, a gmsping device mounted in juxtaposition to said frame, and means passed through the hull and operated from within the apparatus for manipulating said grasping device to disengage said pulley devices from said frame.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed my name in presence of the subscribing witnesses this 24th day of January, 1920.

KARL it. OLSON.

lVitnesses C. E. MULREANY, H. E. THOMPSON. 

